From our archives: Dogged traveler nearly loses his pants

What we thought: 120 years ago

Note to readers – Sauk Valley Media reprints editorials and articles from the past as a regular Monday feature. The following items appeared in the Telegraph on Feb. 3, 1894.

He'll be dogged

if he borrows

pants anymore

The Sterling Standard tells of a commercial traveler who occasionally stops in Sterling where he has a friend. The other day, he borrowed of this friend a pair of pants to wear while he sent his own to a tailor for repair.

Strolling uptown, he ran across his friend's hunting dog. The dog recognized his master's pants, but did not recognize his friend's right to wear them.

The dog was bound to recover his master's pants, and in doing so nearly uncovered his master's friend; whereupon the almost pantless commercial traveler sought the nearest hotel, and retired panting to bed to await the arrival of his own pants from the tailor.

He says he'll be dogged if he ever borrows any more pants, and he probably will.

Tariff reform

in Congress

The Wilson tariff reduction bill, or whatever you may call it, for it is a sort of a nondescript anyway, being an eccentric mixture of high protection and free trade, passed the lower house of Congress by what may be called a strict party vote. Not a Republican vote was cast for the measure, while 17 Democrats voted "No."

It has been well understood that the bill would pass the House with a majority of about 90. The Democratic Party could not, with any sort of consistency, have the cheek to fail in at least attempting to pass some sort of a bill looking towards free trade.

While the bill is a faint attempt at redeeming a pledge to wipe out "tariff robbery" and reform the "unconstitutional laws of protection," these campaign boasts are made ridiculous by incorporating in this very tariff reform measure many of the so-called "tariff robbery" and "unconstitutional" features of that terrible McKinley bill.

But such is the hypocrisy of politics.

The income tax measure was passed as a sort of rider with the bill. Whether or not it was placed there designedly, in hope that it would result in killing this tariff reform in the Senate, remains to be seen. It is, however, a well known fact that many congressmen voted for the Wilson bill who are bitterly opposed to it – perhaps doing so knowing that it would be killed in the Senate.

We are justified in these surmises by the fact that trickery and hypocrisy are openly indulged in by our statesmen in Congress. That may be, however, expected of men who gained their seats by deceit.

Did not the great Tammany leader, the statesman from New York, Bourke Cockran, plead eloquently that the income tax be not passed, rave and fume, beat vacant air with his arms and clenched fists, call upon God and the Democratic Party to save the land from the terrible affliction about to fall upon the country, and then, alas, wipe the perspiration from his brow and vote for the terrible affliction!

He can only be excused for such conduct by the supposition that he knew the bill would be defeated by the Senate.

Charitable

highwayman

Our police report that a man living in the West End was held up last night at the railroad crossing on West Third Street.

The highwayman demanded money or blood, and the good citizen said, "I am returning home from the Church Fair at the Opera House. You are welcome to all the money you can find."

The robber pulled a quarter from his own pocket, handed it to the West Ender, and moved on up the track.

Two steps up

City council proceedings: His honor Mayor J.F. Palmer called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m., the roll was called by City Clerk E.W. Smith. ...

The B.F. Shaw Printing Co. was granted permission to place two steps of not more than 11 inches each in front of their proposed new building, corner of First Street and Ottawa Avenue, in order that first floor will be high enough to permit of it being properly lighted.

Railway change

A change will be made in the time card of the Illinois Central [Railway], commencing tomorrow. The train south to Mendota will hereafter run through to LaSalle. The two night trains north, that were taken off some time ago, will be replaced and will run at about the same time as formerly.

A corrected time-table will appear in the Telegraph Monday.

A good cause

The Women's Relief Society is pleased to acknowledge the receipt of recent cash donations from Judge Crabtree and C.F. Emerson. We can assure our readers who are charitably disposed that cash donations are just now very much needed and will be most judiciously used.

Notwithstanding the erroneous ideas that have got afloat in certain quarters, the ladies of the Relief Committee have not and do not in any case give money or orders to applicants for assistance. If they have not the needed supplies on hand, they personally order the goods which they first satisfy themselves are needed, and then see that they reach their proper destination.

This involves a large amount of gratuitous labor, but it is much the most satisfactory way of disposing of the relief question.

Candidacy,

and so forth

• Charles F. Welty, up from Walton, today places the announcement in the Telegraph that he is a candidate for the office of county treasurer.

• Don't forget the Business Men's Supper and Social this evening in the basement of the Baptist Church. Those who partook of the excellent meal provided by the ladies of this church a few weeks ago will not need to be urged to go again.

• Col. A.A. Pope, of Boston, manufacturer of the Victor bicycle, has devoted himself for some time to the detection of errors in school books and is about to publish a volume containing a list of his discoveries. They are said to number thousands, and more than 1,000 are found in the publications of a single publisher.